


Dawn Only Breaks When the Night Dies

by CelestialCelly



Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Crying, Crying Gladio, Crying Ignis, Crying Prompto, Dawn - Freeform, Everyone Will Cry, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, I can't stop hurting them D:, Mourning, Someone please take these boys away from me, but i mean, what comfort?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-10
Updated: 2019-11-10
Packaged: 2021-01-26 14:47:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,712
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21375844
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CelestialCelly/pseuds/CelestialCelly
Summary: The boys try their hardest to bring Noctis back.He has to wake up.He has to wake up.He has to.Please.Just wake up.He can't be gone.He can't be...Based off He6o's day 8 Inktober art - Frail
Relationships: Gladiolus Amicitia & Prompto Argentum & Noctis Lucis Caelum & Ignis Scientia
Comments: 14
Kudos: 36





	Dawn Only Breaks When the Night Dies

**Author's Note:**

> Firstly, I'd like to apologise for taking an ENTIRE MONTH to get this done. Its been pretty hectic recently, so I thank you for your patience.  
Secondly, if you haven't seen He6o's amazing artwork that prompted this fic. I strongly recommend looking at that [here](https://twitter.com/He6o/status/1181772471734849536). Its an amazing piece, so please do have a lookie :D
> 
> Enjoy the feels trip :)

The one time in Ignis’s life he was grateful he was blind, a heavy arrow of guilt shot through his heart. It made him feel sick to the stomach that he was glad he couldn’t see him.

_Couldn’t see Noct’s still-warm corpse._

He had long given up on trying to hold back the raw fear in his voice as he plead for Prompto to immediately grab a Phoenix down from the small emergency-bag they left outside the throne room in preparation for when the armiger stopped responding to them.

_Why was he bothering? He knew that Noctis wouldn’t come back. Ignis saw the prophecy for himself._

_He would never get to hear his laugh again._

The prophecy said that the light will only return when the Chosen King ascends the throne and the scourge is rid from their star. But a selfish part of him wishes it was wrong. If Noctis had to die to bring the world peace, then he didn’t ever want the sun to rise again.

_He just wanted his brother back._

  
A deep sigh rumbled through Gladio’s throat as he tried to hold back his own tears. With shaky hands, he grasped onto the all-too-familiar sword that King Regis once wielded - the only thing that kept Noctis pinned upright against the throne - through his chest.

“Iggy, grab his shoulders for me?” Not trusting his own voice, the blind man simply nodded and wrapped both hands around Noctis’s limp shoulders. A gentle touch, but a firm enough grip to stop him from shifting.

A hitched breath escaped the Shield as he tugged the large blade out from his dear friend as gently as he could. Someone he once teased and looked fondly at like the little brother Gladio didn’t have. And yet, he was doomed from the start to fail as the King’s Shield and never knew it until it was too late.

_Fate was cruel._

Gladio purposefully tapped the tip of bloodied sword on the broken tiled floor as a voiceless way to let Ignis know that the blade was free and he could let Noctis go. The brunet said nothing but bit the inside of his lip to stop the tremble when he realised Ignis had no plans of releasing Noct. The room was deathly silent, save for the wavering breaths that were slowly being littered with stinging tears - they were definitely burning the still-fresh looking wound he was marked with ten years ago -but it didn’t seem like the blind man cared. The eldest thought for a moment about trying to console Ignis, but decided against it when his silent crying broke into mournful sobs, as though a bottle of emotions had just been shattered and he could no longer contain all hidden anguish kept from his friends. It would be for the best to let him shed all of those feelings, rather than try to help him bottle them up again - even if the unpleasant noise made Gladio’s heart ache.

Gladio stepped to the side instead, his grip tightening on the sword as he tried his damndest to stop himself from letting out his own wracking sobs. They all knew Noct was all Ignis had growing up. On the rarest of occasions, the young Shield would see Scientia’s uncle in the citadel - but even then, he was always too busy to spend a moment with his small nephew. Noctis was the closest thing to family Ignis had. His little brother that he made an oath to at the tender age of six. A promise to protect him and to guide him throughout his life.

His entire life had been dedicated to looking after that little boy he grew up with.

He couldn’t lose him.

At least Gladio had Iris and Prompto had Cindy. Ignis didn’t get that luxury.

Noct was the only thing Ignis had to protect and cherish.

Where the damned Astrals was Prompto with that Phoenix Feather? Each second that passed, the lesser the chance of the feather being able to revive him.

  
Prompto clutched onto the feather tightly with one hand and their first aid bag with the other as he sprinted through the shattered citadel halls. Never before had he been so grateful for the stamina he worked so hard to build up as a kid. All those years he spent trying to lose weight, running every single morning until he felt confident enough to even _speak_ with Noct, let alone become his best friend.

All of that was going to be for naught if he didn’t hurry.

_Noctis needed this more than anything else._

The blond narrowly avoided slipping on the dusty, glossed tiles as he finally reached the throne room. He tried his hardest to ignore how the advisor they all knew to be the sturdiest of their group was on his knees and had his face buried onto Noct’s still-warm lap, his shoulders trembling and his gloved hands clutching onto his King’s arms as his sobs echoed through the heavy room, the heart-wrenching noise only barely muffled by Noct’s bloodied legs.

It wasn’t fair. A world without their King was not one they wanted to be in. But they knew that Noctis would want them to keep going, more than anything else. To rebuild Insomnia and try to live the rest of their lives in the light as happily as they could.

Maybe one day they _would_ live normal lives. But they would never forget their fallen brother who gave his life to bring the dawn back. They’d never truly be themselves again.

Reaching the top of the short staircase, Gladio all but swiped the feather from Prompto’s quivering hands. Not wanting to waste another second, all gentleness was thrown to the wind as he slammed the orange-glowing plume into his King’s hand. Forcing his fingers to close around the feather until the quill snapped, releasing the fierce healing magic that it contained. The flames danced around the still man before flowing gently into his skin and rapidly stitched together the flesh that surrounded the large wound on his chest. Leaving nothing but a red scar behind as the magic faded.

The room was deathly quiet as the trio waited.

And waited.

And waited.

_And waited..._

Time seemed to have stopped when they collectively realised he wasn’t coming back. Prompto’s eyes welled with tears and his breathing quickened, almost to hyperventilation. Freckled hands shook, diving into the first-aid bag in search for another feather, before pressing it into noct’s limp hand.

“Prompto…” Gladio tried. His own voice thick as he tried to speak around the lump in his throat.

The plume snapped, and another wave of fire danced around the King. “C’mon Noct. You gotta wake up, buddy…” The blonde didn’t care that his voice was cracking. Didn’t care that Gladio was pulling at his arm, trying to get him to stop using their very limited supply of potions on him. Didn’t care that he was _wasting_ them now. He couldn’t stop. He couldn’t stop. He would never stop until he-

A firm set of hands suddenly grabbed his shoulders and turned him around and away from Noct’s body. And even though he could barely see anything through the tears that drowned his vision, he knew that he was facing Gladio’s strong chest, being pulled into an encasing hug. No long able to hold back the tears any longer, the blond let out a loud sob as he buried his face into the older man’s perfectly tailored uniform. “It’s okay…” Came the deep voice. Reassuring - even though the words were laced with his own tears.

_It wasn’t okay._

_It would never be okay._

  
Gladio could only pat Prompto’s back as he watched the man shatter in his arms. Struggling to keep his own tears at bay just for a little longer so he could reach out to Ignis, who was still on his knees by Noct’s side, now silently mourning.

The Tattooed man kept one arm wrapped around the blond while the other extended to brush the brunet’s shuddering shoulders. Ignis’s flow of tears paused for a moment as his head jolted upright in a startle. The large man’s hand shifted forward, and for the first time ever, Ignis didn’t flinch away when he slowly lifted his shaded glasses away from his scarred face.

  
Ignis knew what he was doing. It was Gladio’s way of silently calling him. An invitation to be consoled - even though they both know this wound will never heal.

It was a reminder that even though he lost the man he loved like his own brother, that he still wasn’t alone.

Ignis didn’t waste another second before taking that opportunity. His aching knees clicked as he stood up from being crouched in front of Noctis after what felt like hours - even know he knew it had only been seven minutes and fourteen seconds - He forced himself to lift his head to face Gladio, hating that he would be able to see the tears that stained his scarred face. Astrals, how he wishes dearly to be able to read his expression like he used to do so well. He needed to know what was going on in that head of his.

Lithe arms wrapped around the front of the large man and the back of the sharpshooter. The latter still weeping into Gladio’s chest, likely soaking his uniform jacket with tears by now, before he shrugged off his coat to drape it over Prompto’s back.

They didn’t dare to break apart until they had all calmed down somewhat, or maybe they were just so drained of their fluids from crying that they had nothing left to shed. No one could say for certain.

But eventually, Ignis was the first to pull away -Albeit reluctantly- Twisting himself around so he was facing the giant hole in the wall that started to leak light through from over the horizon.

Dawn was upon them once more. After ten long years of darkness.

It didn’t matter how warm the sun would be on their skin, or that it would make life flourish and bring peace to Eos. It would never be enough to replace what they lost that day.

_No one would ever be able to replace their King._


End file.
